Georgia Poetry Society NEWSLETTER, October2025
President’s Corner
By Barbara Barry-Nishanian
DearPoetsandFriends,
Therecentcool morningsremind methatfallishere, bringingthebeauty andexcitementthat onlyfalloffers Excitementisalso nearforyouand GPS,aswehave beenbusywithnew ideasandplansto supportyourpersonalgrowth,career advancement,skilldevelopment,andmore excitingopportunities.Mostimportantly,we wanttobuildastrongercommunityamongour members…thinkofGPSasa“Family.”Our specialbondisourloveofpoetry.
withideas,information,etc.,shecangatherfor futureissues.
Also,afriendlyreminder,submittitleideasfor this,asofnow,unnamedlittlejewel.The NewsletterandGPSwebsitewillmirrormuchof thesameinformation,keepingyouuptodatein morethanoneway Inthesamefocus,thisis lessformalideaswantedtogettoyou
Finally,pleasenotethatasamemberofthe GeorgiaPoetrySociety,youarealsoamember oftheNationalFederationofStatePoetry Societies,andassuch,youhaveaccesstopoetry contestsofferedbyoursisterorganizations throughoutthecountry.CheckoutStrophes,the NFSPSnewsletter,toseealltheyhavetooffer!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PresidentʼsCorner
GPSEvents Poetry Contest
Sincebecomingvicepresidentandespecially nowaspresident,ithasbeenveryimportantto methateachofyoufeelsasenseofbelonging. Thatyouareassuredthatyourideasare welcomed,andthatyouwillbeheard Moreso aswemoveforward!Wewanttoassureyouthat theboard’sgoalistoprovidesupportand encouragement,alongwithopportunitiesfor skilldevelopment,contests,andpublications throughoutGeorgiaandbeyond
I’dlikefeedbackonthisquestion:Howdidyou enjoytheAugust2025redesignednewsletter? Hopeyouwerelistening…feedback,please!It isnowunderthedirectionofourneweditor, KimberlyWright.Thismonthlynewsletter,as youhaveseen,willoffervariousmeansof supportingyou,educatingyou,promotingyou, etc.Youcanhelpbethedrivingforcebehind yourGPSnewsletterbyprovidingKimberly
NextOpenMic
Meet and Greet
Newsletter Is Going Bimonthly Did you know?
GPS Has Online Professional Development Courses BoardPositionsOpentoMembership NowAcceptingSubmissionsforTheReachof Song Poetry Challenge
This Month’s Poetry Prompt Suggested Reading
Upcoming Ga Literary Events
AtlantaWritersConference
JohnsCreekLiteraryFair
WhatʼsInaName? CONTACTS
GPS Events
PoetryContest
There’sjustenoughtimetohavea members-onlypoetrycontestbeforetheyear ends!
Pleasesendusasingleentryonanythemeand inanystyle.Includethepoem’stitlealongwith yournameandcontactinformationinthebody ofanemailto:VP@georgiapoetrysociety.org. Includeyourpoemasanattachmenttothe email.
Entrieswillbeaccepteduntilend-of-dayOct 31.First,secondandthirdplacewinnerswillbe announcedinourNovembernewsletterand invitedtoreadtheirpoemsattheNov.20Open Mic.
Prizesare:FirstPlace,$25;SecondPlace,$15; ThirdPlace,$10.
MeetandGreet
● Nov.8,11a.m.
Doyouwantalittleno-pressurechatortoreach outtoGPSmembers?TheGeorgiaPoetry Societyregularlyholdsmeetandgreets,andyou arewelcometoZoomonby,bring(ormeet!)a friendandintroduceyourself Thisisan informalmeetingthatwe’llusetotakefeedback andquestions
NextOpenMic
● Nov20.,7p.m.,onlineviaZoom.
Newsletter Is Going
Bimonthly
TheGeorgiaPoetrySocietyNewsletterwill henceforthbeabimonthlypublication.This givesusmoretimetomakethis volunteer-producedpublicationthebestitcan be
Expectthenexteditionofthenewslettertocome outinJanuary,withpublicationeverytwo monthsthereafter
Did you know?
GPSHasOnlineProfessional DevelopmentCourses
Didyouknowwehavecoursesavailableto strengthenyourskillsasapoetandmarketerof yourownwork?
CheckoutthecoursessectionoftheGPS websitetotapintothiseducation Itincludesa freeemailcourseonmarketing
OthercoursesincludePoetryOnline:BuildYour FirstBlogorWebsiteandTakeYourPoetry MarketingtotheNextLevel,whichwasnewly unveiledinJune Thisintermediate-levelcourse includes8+hoursofcontent,38in-depthlessons andsevenlessonscompletelyfreetoexplore
Takeadvantageoftheseresourcestoimprove thebusinesssideofyourpoetrylife
Board Positions Open to Membership
TheGeorgiaPoetrySocietyisgettinginshape andpreparingtoofferourmembersavarietyof opportunitiesandresourcestosupporttheir growthaspoetsinGeorgia.Currently,wehavea fewpositionsopenonourboardofdirectors, andwe’dliketofillthoseroleswithqualified membersofourpoetrycommunity.Ifyou’re interestedinanyofthepositionslistedbelow, pleaseemailMichelleAldermanat VP@georgiapoetrysocietyorg Include'GPS Board'inthesubjectline,andattachyour resumeorCV,orabriefexplanationofrelevant qualifications Astrongdesiretodothework canmattermorethanalackofskillsifyouare willingtolearnasyougo
Pleasenotethatalloftheseboardpositionsare voluntaryandunpaid Boardmembersmeet regularlythroughZoom.
AvailablePositions:
● Treasurer–monitor,maintain,and adviseonGPSfinances Relevant experiencerequired Thisisan ExecutiveCommitteeposition
● LegalCounsel–advisoryposition
● EventsChairman–planand coordinateprogramsandeventsinand throughoutGeorgia
● ContestManager–planandcoordinate ofpoetrycontestsinandthroughout Georgia
● Historian–maintainandcontinue historicalrecordoftheorganizationin itsvariousforms
● BookstoreandPromotionalProducts Manager–monitorthereceipt,sales, anddistributionofmemberpublications andGPSproducts
● ManagingEditor,ReachofSong Anthology–planandcoordinateoverall publicationprocess
● Volunteers-boardmemberslivein differentlocationsacrossGeorgia This necessitatesvolunteersinvarious locationstoassistboardmemberswith preparingandfollowingthroughon multipleprojectsortotakeonprojects themselvestosupportGPSgoalsin Georgia.
Thispositioncanbeshort-term, long-term,temporary,orevent-based,as thevolunteerdetermines.
Now Accepting Submissions for The
ReachofSong
TheGeorgiaPoetrySocietyisnowaccepting submissionsfrommembersforthenextReach ofSongAnthology,tobepublishedlaterthis year.
Membersareencouragedtosubmituptothree poemseachforconsideration.
MemberswhohavesharedpoemsatanyGPS OpenMiconourYouTubechannelsince October2023areespeciallyencouragedto submitthoseworks
SubmissionRequirements:
Submituptothreepoemsbyemail Combine yourentriesintoasingledocumentandattachit toanemailaddressedto gpsreachofsong@gmail.com.
Pleaseincludeyourcontactinformationinthe emailbody:
● yournameand/orpenname,
● address,
● phonenumber,
● emailaddress,
● thetitlesofyoursubmissions
Poemsthatincludefoullanguagewillnotbe consideredforpublication Everymemberwho submitstheirworkwillbeguaranteed publicationofatleastonepoem
Want to Be the Next Person We Feature on Spotlight On?
Doyouhaveanewbookcomingoutoranew publicationinliteraryjournals?Didyoujustwin acontest?Areyoutakingpartinabookfairor haveanotherneatachievementyou’dliketo crowabout?
Thisnewsletteristhespaceforyou!Please reachoutto newsletter@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
Poetry Challenge
EachmonthduringOpenMic,amemberis askedtosuggestapoetryformforeveryoneto tryforthenextOpenMic
Memberscanchoosewhethertoacceptthe challengeornot,butthosewhodoaregiventhe firstopportunitytoreadtheirpoemattheevent
Wehopeyouwillacceptthischallenge!
Thismonththeformis:
Sonnet
Oneofthemorefamiliartraditionalpoetry forms,thesonnetis14-linesandtypically rhymingandwritteniniambicpentameter
Therhymeschemeandcompositionvaries
Ofcourse,youarelikelyfamiliarwiththethree familiarvarietiesofsonnets,Petrarchan (eight-linestanzarhymingABBAABBA followedbyasix-linestanza),Italian (Petrarchanwithaslightlydifferentrhyme schemeforthesecondstanza)andShakesperian (onestanzawiththreequatrainsanda concludingcouplet),butsomanymorevarieties exist
AfamousexampleofthePetrarchansonnetis ElizabethBarretBrowning’s,“Sonnetsfromthe Portuguese43:HowdoIlovethee?Letme counttheways,”
ForanoteworthyexampleoftheItaliansonnet, turntoJohnDonne’s“HolySonnets:If poisonousminerals,andifthattree”
AgoodexampleoftheShakesperiansonnetis ClaudeMcKay’s“America”
Formoreinformationonthehistorical significanceandvarietyofthesonnetform,read thisarticlefromthePoetryFoundation, “LearningtheSonnet”
SeeyouatthenextOpenMic,Nov.20,7p.m., onlineviaZoom.
William Shakespeare (Image by WikiImages from Pixabay)
RoswellHistoryMuseum,featuringatalkative posterofPresidentTheodoreRoosevelt(Photo by Kimberly L Wright)
This Month’s Poetry
Prompt
Eachmonth,GPSoffersapoetryprompttohelp ourmembersexplorenewideasforwritingor possiblybreakadryspell
Hereisanideainspiredby Poetry of Place: Helping Students Write Their Words byTerry Hermsen:takeafieldtriptoaplaceinyour townyou’vedrivenbybutneversetfootinside
AmongHermsen’srecommendedfieldtrips:a sciencefair,arestoredtheater,anartmuseum,or ahistoricalsociety
Forinstance,Roswellhasasmallhistory museumonthesecondflooroftheRoswell CulturalArtsCenterthatisfreeandopentothe public,whereyouwillbegreetedassoonasyou openthedoorbyalargeposterofPresident TheodoreRooseveltandarecordedmessage doneinthestyleofhisspeech Ithasquitean effect
Getinspiredbywhatyousee Thegameisto wanderwithapoet’seyes,gatheringfacts, makingobservationsandinterviewingthe docent.Then,takewhatyou’velearnedand write.
Thisexercisemightprovideagreatopportunity toexplorepersonapoetry.Becomeoneofthe peopleofthepastseenatthehistoricalmuseum oroneofthetoolsyouseeatthemuseum.Let yourideasflow.
Suggested Reading
A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry,editedbyStacey LynnBrownandOliverdelaPaz
Thisanthologyispackedwithexamplesof personapoetryandisdividedintosections delvingintohistorical,contemporaryand imaginarypersonas Throughthesepoems, confronttheevilsofthepastorthebanalitiesof therecentpast Everypoemyoureadinthis collectioniswellworthreadingevenifjustto challengeyournotionsofwhatapersonapoem canbeandwhatpoetrycantellusaboutthe maskswewear.
InthisHalloweenseason,itcanberefreshingto donamaskandconsiderperspectivesotherthan
one’sown Apersonapoemprovidesawayfora poettodelveintotheintricaciesofcharacterand thefullnessofaworldnotone’sown
Amongthehauntingpoemsinthiscollectionis “ChorusofX,theRescuer’sMark”byIain HaleyPollock,asparsebutchillingreflectionon HurricaneKatrina Youcanreadmoreaboutthe poethere
Otherpoetsincludedinthisanthologyinclude thelateJakeAdamYork,IlyaKaminsky, CamilleT Dungy,KeetjeKuipers,CollinKelley andmanyothers
TheanthologycanbepurchasedonPowell’s Books,Books-A-Million,Bookshop,Amazon, orwherevergoodbooksaresold Itmayalsobe availableforcheckoutatyourlocallibrary
Upcoming Ga. Literary Events
AtlantaWritersConference
● Oct.24-25
● WestinAtlantaAirportHotel
Registrationrequired.
Pricevaries,seepricingfordetails.
JohnsCreekLiteraryFair
● Nov.15,12to5p.m.,free
● CityHall,11360LakefieldDr,Johns Creek
SpeakersincludeKarenWhiteandformerGov NathanDeal.
Know of a poetry or literary event we should feature? Submit your news to newsletter@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
What’s In a Name?
TheGeorgiaPoetrySocietynewsletterisavital resourceformembersseekinginspiration, writingtools,informativearticles,updateson poetryeventsacrossthestate,andfellowship withfellowGeorgiapoets.Therefore,weaimto giveournewsletteranamethatreflectsthe essenceofwhoweareasacommunityofpoets inGeorgia.
Pleaseputonyourcreativethinkingcapsand shareyourideasforanewsletternamethat embodiestheGeorgiarootsandpoeticambitions ofGPS.Belowisashortlisttosparkyour imagination.Selectyourfavoritesorsuggest somethingdifferent Sendyournewslettername ideastovp@georgiapoetrysocietyorgwith 'NewsletterName'inthesubjectline A committeewillselectthreetofivefavoritesto includeforamembershipvote Welookforward toyoursuggestions
Newsletternamesuggestions:
● GeorgiaVerse
● KudzuChronicle
● TheGeorgiaStanza
● TheGeorgiaSonnet
● PeachStatePoetics
CONTACTS
OFFICERS
● Barbara Barry-Nishanian – President President@georgiapoetrysociety.org
● Michelle Flannery-Alderman – Vice President VP@georgiapoetrysociety.org
● Alice Johnson – Secretary Secretary@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
● VACANT – Treasurer Treasurer@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
BOARDMEMBERS
● Elizabeth John – Member Outreach Chair
● VACANT – Education Chair
● VACANT – Reach of Song Editor
● Sharon Schroeder – CSRA Affiliate
● Lucinda Clark – Past President and NSFPS Liaison
● Jill Jennings – Member-at-Large
CONTACTINFO
● Bookstore –bookstore@georgiapoetrysociety.org
● Contests –contests@georgiapoetrysociety.org
● Newsletter –newsletter@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
● Membership –membership@georgiapoetrysociety. org
● Reach Of Song Editor –roseditor@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
● General Contact –info@georgiapoetrysocietyorg
Find the Georgia Poetry Society on the web at wwwgeorgiapoetrysocietyorg, on Facebook, Instagram andYouTube
(Image by Ben Kerck from Pixabay)